He was the father of the occult, the founder of astrology, the discoverer of alchemy. He was Hermes Trismegistus, and as the scribe of the gods of ancient Egypt, he possessed all divine knowledge...
He was the father of the occult, the founder of astrology, the discoverer of alchemy. He was Hermes Trismegistus, and as the scribe of the gods of ancient Egypt, he possessed all divine knowledge...
The first book to offer an integrated reading of ancient Greek attitudes to laughter. Taking material from various genres and contexts, the book analyses both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans and gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals and groups to shame and even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure and pain, friendship and enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humour', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
The first book to offer an integrated reading of ancient Greek attitudes to laughter. Taking material from various genres and contexts, the book analyses both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans and gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals and groups to shame and even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure and pain, friendship and enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humour', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
This book is concerned with the triad of classical Indian mythology, Brahma the Creator, Visnu the preserver and Siva the destroyer. These gods did not always dominate the Indian religion; the way in which the gods of the Vedic pantheon many of whom are recognizably related to other Indo-European gods' were changed over time and with the cultural and social needs of the population they served, is traced in broad outlines. The gods of the triad assimilated lesser gods, and their attributes, in this process, until they reached their positions of major importance.
This interdisciplinary study investigates the divine personas in the so-called magical hymns of the Greek magical papyri which, in a corpus usually seen as a significant expression of religious syncretism with strong Egyptian influence, were long considered to be the 'most authentically Greek' contribution. Fifteen hymns receive a line-by-line commentary focusing on religious concepts, ritual practice, language and style. The overarching aim is to categorise the nature of divinity according to its Greek or Egyptian elements, examining earlier Greek and Egyptian sources and religious-magical traditions in order to find textual or conceptual parallels. Are the gods of the magical hymns Greek or Egyptian in nature? Did the magical hymns originate in a Greek or Egyptian cultural background? The book tries to answer these questions and to shed light on the religious plurality and/or fusion of the two cultures in the treatment of divinity in the Greek magical papyri.
The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible features book introductions, gospel-centered study notes, and articles that explain passage-by-passage how Gods redemptive purposes culminate in the gospel an
TheESV Gospel Transformation Study Biblefeatures book introductions, gospel-centered study notes, and articles that explain passage-by-passage how Gods redemptive purposes culminate in the gospel and
Jews often consider Hinduism to be Avoda Zara, idolatry, due to its worship of images and multiple gods. Closer study of Hinduism and of recent Jewish attitudes to it suggests the problem is far more
Jews often consider Hinduism to be Avoda Zara, idolatry, due to its worship of images and multiple gods. Closer study of Hinduism and of recent Jewish attitudes to it suggests the problem is far more
German classicist's monumental study of the origins of European thought in Greek literature and philosophy. Brilliant, widely influential. Includes "Homer's View of Man," "The Olympian Gods," "The Ris
Formerly known as 'Nile gods', fecundity figures - personifications of aspects of non-sexual fertility - have a significant role in the sophisticated iconography of ancient Egypt. In his study, first
Unmistakable by virtue of his exaggerated phallus, Priapus-one of Rome's minor fertility gods-inspired a host of epigrammatic poems that offer one of the best primary sources for the study of ancient
Stephenson Percy Smith (1840–1922) arrived in New Zealand as a boy, and soon became fascinated by Maori culture. After retiring in 1900 from his career as a government surveyor, Smith devoted himself to the study of the Maori and co-founded the Polynesian Society, which published this two-volume study in 1913–15. The book contains the Maori text of an important body of beliefs and traditions which had been committed to writing over fifty years earlier, when the young W. H. Whatahoro had acted as scribe for a group of senior elders concerned to preserve this ancient and sacred knowledge. Only long afterwards was Whatahoro willing to divulge it to Europeans, and he personally assisted Smith with the translation provided here. Although Smith's interpretative notes and 'comparative mythology' agenda are typical of their time, this pioneering work laid foundations for later research. Volume 1 focuses on the gods and creation myths.
The linguist and philologist Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) is best remembered as co-editor, with his brother Wilhelm, of Grimm's Fairy Tales, though their great Deutsches Wörterbuch remains an influential reference work. Grimm's exhaustive study in comparative mythology and religion, Deutsche Mythologie, was first published in German in 1835: this English translation, published between 1880 and 1888, is of the posthumous fourth German edition of 1875. Drawing on his knowledge of language and world mythology, Grimm outlines a wide variety of themes in Germanic folklore (such as time, creation, destiny and the soul), comparing them to classical and oriental tales as well as charting the influence of Christianity on legends and on Pagan religion. Volume 1 focuses on religion, worship and the portrayal of gods and their powers. Erudite and full of insight, this is an invaluable resource for scholars of mythology and religion as well as of German cultural history.
Stephenson Percy Smith (1840–1922) arrived in New Zealand as a boy, and soon became fascinated by Maori culture. After retiring in 1900 from his career as a government surveyor, Smith devoted himself to the study of the Maori and co-founded the Polynesian Society, which published this two-volume study in 1913–15. The book contains the Maori text of an important body of beliefs and traditions which had been committed to writing over fifty years earlier, when the young W. H. Whatahoro had acted as scribe for a group of senior elders concerned to preserve this ancient and sacred knowledge. Only long afterwards was Whatahoro willing to divulge it to Europeans, and he personally assisted Smith with the translation provided here. Their pioneering work laid foundations for later research. Volume 1 focuses on the gods and creation myths, and Volume 2 on the history of the Maori.
Up in Flames is the first comprehensive study of the traditional Chinese craft of paper sculpture: the construction in bamboo and paper of human figures, figures of gods, buildings, and other objects—
Now available in English translation, this in-depth study argues that Aristotle's theology was more traditional that has been widely proposed and that Aristotle perceived the gods as living and benevo
Just as surely as Haiti is "possessed" by the gods and spirits of vaudun (voodoo), the island "possessed" Katherine Dunham when she first went there in 1936 to study dance and ritual. In this book, D
